Though the city of Chennai is over 350 years old, it has not received the kind of international attention reserved for other metropolitan cities in India, while the writings on Chennai that are available tend to view it from an elite middle-class perspective, epitomized by the opposition to renaming it from Madras a few years ago. Though Chennai is the name it has long held in Tamil literature, this somewhat provocatively titled yet engaging and attractive book highlights the vernacular character of the city, with writings from both Tamil and academic sources, illustrated with large color photographs throughout.